• Associated Press

May 15, 2024, 08:10 PM ET

ARLINGTON, Texas —

    • 1 Related

    Scherzer played catch in the outfield Wednesday, when the Rangers moved him from the 15-day to 60-day IL to make room on their 40-man roster for the addition of right-hander Shaun Anderson to their active roster.

    “We just backed him off some,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said Wednesday. “I will say he’s feeling better.”

    Anderson was recalled from Round Rock when Jack Leiter was optioned back to that Triple-A team a day after allowing six runs in 1 2/3 innings against Cleveland in his first home start.

    The earliest Scherzer could be activated now is May 28, though it is unclear when he might be ready to pitch this season.

    The 39-year-old right-hander had surgery in mid-December to repair a herniated disk in his lower back, and has said that isn’t giving him any issues.

    Scherzer threw 52 pitches into the third inning of his first rehab start for Round Rock on April 24. He said after that he had been experiencing thumb soreness similar to last year before being sidelined for the end of the regular season and the start of the playoffs for the World Series champion Rangers.

    The Rangers acquired Scherzer from the Mets in a deadline trade last July after the pitcher agreed to opt in on the final year of his contract for this season at $43.3 million. New York is paying $30.83 million of that to Texas in twice-monthly installments.

    After the trade, Scherzer was 4-2 with a 3.20 ERA in eight starts for Texas, the last in the regular season on Sept. 12 before being sidelined by a muscle strain in his shoulder. He returned to make two starts in the American League Championship Series, then Game 3 of the World Series before exiting after three innings because of his back.

    His 3,367 career strikeouts are the most among active pitchers, and he’s second on the active list with 214 wins and 448 games started.